the objective of the proposed research is to provide synthetic methods to prepare cephalotaxine and related structures which may then be converted into harringtonine and its relatives. The proposed synthetic approach is based on a hypothesis for the formation of racemic cephalotaxine methiodide from optically active cephalotaxine. This proposal involves the synthesis and cyclization of a bicyclic alpha, beta, gamma, delta-unsaturated aldehyde similar to the intermediate proposed to be responsible for the racemization of cephalotaxine upon treatment with methyl iodide.